Link to Ashwin Monteiro user page Ashwin Monteiro Business Development Manager – William Russell Team at Dubai Insurance Company psc 28 April 2026 The information in this post refers to the changes we’re making to Dubai Insurance Company insured health insurance policies in the UAE that start or renew between 01 June 2026 and 31 May 2027 (inclusive). See last year’s post for information on our previous product review. Introduction We’re pleased to share with you the changes we’re making to health insurance policies designed by William Russell and insured by Dubai Insurance Company in the UAE starting or renewing on 01 June 2026. We continually review and enhance our products to ensure they remain fully compliant with UAE regulations while delivering strong, fair value for members. As the needs of your clients in the UAE continue to evolve, it’s important to us that our products evolve with them – supporting you in offering the right solutions at the right time. Key changes include: New optical care benefit for individuals Lower optional dental benefits for individuals and businesses Simplified Flex cover for businesses Simplified policy documents Continuation of the 16% lifetime discount for new individual policies These changes take effect for all existing members with a renewal date of 01 June 2026 or later, and all new members purchasing a health insurance policy with a start date of 01 June 2026 or later. Please note these changes do not apply to members residing outside the UAE. What’s changed? General changes Benefit changes Pricing Changes to terms & conditions General changes We’ve simplified ‘Flex’ cover To provide greater value and more comprehensive protection for businesses, we’ve replaced the Flex 1 and Flex 2 levels of cover with Flex (previously Flex 3). Members are now offered the Flex plan, which includes higher benefits and/or higher benefit limits. We’ve simplified policy documentation We previously used the term ‘Plan Agreement’ to describe your client’s health insurance policy. We’re now using the term ‘Schedule of Benefits‘, for both individuals and businesses. For your business clients, we’ve also consolidated the business ‘Terms and Conditions’ into the Schedule of Benefits to ensure greater clarity, consistency and conciseness. We’re continuing the 16% lifetime discount for new individual and family policies We’re continuing the 16% lifetime discount for all individuals and families purchasing a new health insurance policy. All quotes we issue automatically include this discount. To find more about our lifetime discounts, please speak to our WR team in Dubai. Benefit changes New optical care benefit for individuals We’ve added a new optical benefit to the Silver and Gold plans for your individual clients, providing up to AED734 per policy year. Within this benefit, we’ll pay for an annual optical test, lenses, frames, and contact lenses – only upon a change of prescription. Elite Individual From 01 June 2026, the below, the below optical care benefits apply to individual health plans: Silver Gold Optical care Up to AED734 Up to AED734 Please note: we don’t pay for LASIK eye surgery or any other surgical correction of short-sightedness (myopia), long-sightedness (hyperopia) or irregular-shaped cornea (astigmatism). Lower optional dental benefits for individuals and businesses We’ve introduced lower benefit limits for dental care on the Silver plan. Dental Basic (Option A): Up to AED 1,835, subject to a Nil or 20% co-insurance per visit Dental Plus (Option A): Up to AED 5,505, subject to a Nil or 20% co-insurance per visit We now also offering orthodontics treatments for under 18s as an option. If your clients want to upgrade their dental cover, they only have to choose one benefit. As an example, they no longer have to purchase Dental Basic before choosing Dental Plus; by purchasing Dental Plus, they automatically have access to all the benefits in Dental Basic. Elite individuals From 01 June 2026, the below, the below dental benefits apply to individual health plans: Silver Gold Dental Basic Option A Up to AED1,835 (Optional)Option B Up to AED3,670 (Optional) Up to AED5,505 (Default for Gold) Dental Plus Option A Up to AED5,505 (Optional)Option B Up to AED7,340 (Optional) Up to AED7,340 (Optional) If your clients change their dental cover, these options are now available depending on their specific circumstance. Notes on dental cover for individuals All dental treatment must be carried out by a dentist in a hospital emergency room or dental surgery. Emergency restorative outpatient treatment required to treat or replace sound and natural teeth which are lost or damaged following an accident must be received within 72 hours of the accident. A 12-month waiting period applies to dental repair, full/partial dentures, dental bridges, crowns/inlays/onlays and dental implants on Dental Plus. For businesses From 01 June 2026, the below, the below dental benefits apply to all Elite and Flex plans: Elite Flex Dental Basic AED1,835 (Not available for Gold)AED3,670 (Not available for Gold) AED5,505 (Default for Gold) AED1,835 AED3,670AED5,505 Dental Plus AED5,505 AED7,340 AED11,010 AED5,505 AED7,340 AED11,010 Dental Plus with Orthodontics AED7,340 AED11,010 AED7,340 AED11,010 Notes on dental cover for businesses All dental treatment must be carried out by a dentist in a hospital emergency room or dental surgery. Treatment for damaged crowns, dentures, bridge work or false teeth is only covered under the Dental Plus benefit. We only cover orthodontic consultations for children under 18 if your employer has selected Dental Plus including orthodontics. A 12-month waiting period applies to dental repair, full/partial dentures, dental bridges, crowns/inlays/onlays and dental implants on Dental Plus. A 50% co-insurance and 12-month waiting period applies to orthodontic treatment for children under the age of 18. We will give current individual and group members the option to choose the level of cover available most similar to their current cover or amend to what best suits their needs. Changes to Medical History Disregarded (MHD) for businesses We’ve made some updates to how Medical History Disregarded (MHD) applies to business health plans on Flex and Elite. The minimum group size for MHD is now 10 employees. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees can only be offered cover on a Fully Medically Underwritten (FMU) basis. Exchange rate AED1 = US$0.27 We’ve extending eligibility on hormone replacement therapy We’ve replaced existing benefit wording to extend eligibility to all women using HRT for ovarian function cessation, either at natural menopause or after surgical ovary removal. The Silver and Gold plans provide up to AED3,670 per policy year. We’ve clarified wording on congenital conditions We’ve reviewed the congenital condition wording for better transparency and understanding, this is just a clarification of wording, there is no impact on coverage. Helping to manage your client’s renewal We can help you with tailoring tools to help your individual and business clients reduce their premium without compromising their cover. Increase their excess A higher excess will mean a lower premium. A copay is the contribution the member makes towards the cost of a claim. Change their payment frequency Your clients can save up to 5% on your renewal premium by paying on an annual basis. If they are already paying annually, they can spread the cost of their premium by switching to paying in quarterly or semi-annual instalments (though this will increase their overall premium). Reduce their coverage zone and consider restricted networks The coverage zone is the geographic or territorial limits of their health insurance policy. In short, it specifies which countries they’re covered in. If they have worldwide cover for their current plan, they can reduce their renewal premium by choosing a more restricted coverage zone. The restricted coverage zones limit their cover in countries where the cost of private healthcare is higher. Consider a different plan Your individual clients may choose to switch to a cheaper health plan with fewer benefits. And for your business clients on an Elite Gold plan, they may find significant savings if they reduce their cover to Silver. Although It has a lower annual benefit and lower cover for costly benefits such as maternity and dental care, it still offers comprehensive cover for a wide range of medical treatments, with the privacy of a private room during hospital stays. They may wish to consider the Flex plan to be a lower-cost option for their employees. It again meets the Dubai Health Authority’s requirements of a private health insurance plan and if they choose this option, they’re also free to flex up their employees’ cover according to their needs, with a range of deductibles, co-pays, and medical networks available. If you’d like to explore how we can help you meet your clients’ expectations with flexible, tailored health insurance solutions, our dedicated team in Dubai are here to support you. Book a Call Pricing We aim to offer fair, accurate and understandable pricing. This year our premium rates will increase in line with medical inflation. There are no performance related increases in the base rate, or increases due to product enhancements we have made. In February as part of the annual review, we evaluated medical inflation at 11.5% for Dubai for 2026. This is consistent with inflation last year and fairly static against previous years, but slightly increasing vs general inflation. This 11.5% figure appears repeatedly across employer-benefits commentary, healthcare consulting insights and GCC-wide medical inflation forecasts, making it the most consistently referenced estimate and in line what we are seeing in claims costs. A reminder: the average premium inflation is an average. It also doesn’t take into account age related increases. Changes to terms & conditions We’ve updated and clarified several definitions within the ‘Schedule of Benefits’ (previously known as their Plan Agreement) to make the terms and conditions easier to understand. We’ve clarified the wording of the ‘coverage zone’ The wording in the coverage zone of the ‘definitions’ section of their plan schedule of benefits has been amended to make it easier to understand. We’ve added and updated ‘definitions’ We’ve also added and updated ‘definitions’ across the ‘schedule of benefits’ documents to make their policy easier to understand. Definitions which have been added or updated: Active at work Benefit(s) Compulsory plan Date of entry Declared condition Deletion date Emergency dental treatment Emergency ward services following accident Employee Employer Endorsement Group Hospital Medical treatment Network Outpatient general services Overall limits Second opinion Specialist outpatient services Unused premium Utilization review Work related accident/illness For full details please refer to the relevant schedule of benefits. The William Russell team has operated within Dubai Insurance Company, designing and delivering DHA-compliant expat health insurance tailored specifically for individuals and companies living and working in Dubai and the wider UAE. Want to learn more about our changes? Book a call with a member of our William Russell team at Dubai Insurance Company Book a Call In the UAE, the William Russell plans are issued and underwritten by Dubai Insurance Company psc, which is licensed by the UAE Central Bank, registration number 4, with its registered office at Dubai Insurance Company, PO Box 3027, Dubai, UAE.
